Dress for the Day: Color Pops

It was the first day that looked like winter, gray skies and a cold wind.

So I decided it called for color.

Sometimes you just need to do the opposite of what the day calls for.

I had no idea how much I'd love my booties. I wear them way more than I thought I would. You need a pair! Yes - you!

I've been wearing these denim leggings all fall, and I thought they were pretty cute. And then I saw this photo, and now I'm questioning my choice. I feel a little bootylicious. But you know, Brian hasn't complained so maybe it's okay. Ha!

That's the craziest thing about doing these #dressfortheday posts. I'm really liking that I have to think about my outfits a bit more - I think I'm taking more chances and putting things together I might not have otherwise. But I also have to be willing to look at the photos.

It's a tough thing to look at your legs and your hips from all angles. (And you know I pick the most flattering photos to share with y'all!) It's eye opening for sure.

And some weeks it tests my confidence a bit. This week was one of those weeks.

I'll probably wear this outfit again - it's super comfortable and I like it. But I might need to find a longer shirt to cover the boot-ay a bit more. :)

// sweater // shirt // leggings // scarf (similar) // booties //

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Linking up:

Thankful

So Thanksgiving has come and gone. It seems like it came early this year, no?

We had a wonderful visit with family full of great food and fun. After lunch we needed a walk and some energy burning so we headed down to the little park in GJ's neighborhood.

The evening was perfect.

And the kids had a blast. Caroline has turned into a little daredevil. She's going to give me a run for my money that one.

We drove home at bedtime Friday night which was fabulous. The kids fell asleep in the car, we had very little traffic and had all weekend back at home to get unpacked and start Christmas decorating.

So you'd think that I'd have my tree up and trimmed, all the laundry done and the house ready for Monday morning.

Hahahaha!

But we did get our family photos taken for our Christmas cards. I'm pretty excited about that.

I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving!  And cheers to the beginning of the holiday season!

Dress for the Day - Hit the Road

When I was a sophomore in high school I went to the Alamo Bowl with my friend Natalie and her parents. We drove from Tulsa to San Antonio, had a great trip, enjoyed the game and woke up and left San Antonio at some crazy hour early in the morning to head back to Tulsa.

Natalie and I, being in high school and all, thought we were really cool so we slept until the very last minute and then got in the car in our pajamas.

Which would have been fine except that Natalie's dad wanted to stop at Northpark mall in Dallas. I've never quite gotten over the fact that I walked through Northpark in my pj's. I've been there approximately 432 times in the years that I've lived in Dallas and I still very often think of the pajama trip when I walk in to Dillard's. It's kind of sad, really.

This Thanksgiving week we'll be in the car like so many other Americans off to visit family. And you know what I won't be wearing? My pajamas. :)

I will be wearing comfy clothes though.

Here is a fave stretchy dress from Target - it's kind of like wearing pajamas - paired with my often worn cardigan and flats from Banana. That's it.

Oh, and Spanx. I love them, and I think they're comfortable too. Maybe because I wear them so often? But they don't bother me one bit.

And I have to share Caroline's traveling outfit with you just because she's so dang cute.

Only a toddler can wear horizontal stripes on her hiney and look that adorable. And her shoes? Swoon. She likes them too.

And that's how I chose to #dressfortheday this week - ready to hit the road!

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This week of Thanksgiving I want to take a minute to thank all of you - my wonderful readers who come by this space so often and take the time to leave me a comment or send an email. It means the world to me that you are here.

I'm so very thankful for you.

xoxo

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Linking up:

Coffee Scarves & Christmas Flags

I know we're all off getting ready for Thanksgiving this week, and I think I've done a pretty good job of focusing on the turkey, not skipping ahead to Christmas. It's hard though.

I have listened to a little Michael Bublé Christmas music. I've started my shopping and picked out my wrapping paper. And I've designed a few Christmas cards for friends and family.

But I still have my pumpkins out in the house. They're moldy now though so come Friday it'll be full on Christmas around here.

One thing I wanted to do ahead of time was make a few little gifts for Andrew and Caroline's teachers. Y'all know how much I love my iced coffee cups, but I decided hot coffee might be a little more appropriate for the holidays.

And I've recently discovered the joys of working with felt. It's super easy to cut, it doesn't fray and I don't have to sew it.

I put these together and came up with coffee scarves.

How adorable are these?

And they were super easy.

Cut a one inch strip off your 12" felt square and make little cuts at the ends to make the fringe. And the only tricky part is that you have to sew on the button. I did have to watch a YouTube video, but I did it. lol!

Once your scarf is ready you'll want to print your Christmas flags.

>>>> You can download the jpeg file here. <<<<

Attach the flags with mini clothes pins and you're set.

You can also attach the flags to a lolly pop stick and put it on top.

I can't wait to give these to the kids' teachers. And I think they'd be great neighbor gifts too. Who doesn't love coffee?

Enjoy!

Weekend #DIYs.

It's kind of crazy that I left that picture of me in a Cowboys shirt up on my blog for so long...we're already back to game day and they won - again! It's a November miracle.

I was bitten by the DIY bug last week, and I went a little off the deep end.

It all started when I bought this ebook from the Handmade Home. I decided right then that I needed a jig saw and lots of paint. Everything she posts is so inspiring! I wanted to get to work.

But I thought I should start small so I painted a sign for our downstairs bathroom.

I don't know why I thought a hand painted sign would be easy.

I traced the letters but still had to paint them in by hand. Let's just say I do not have a career in surgery ahead of me. But I still think it's pretty cute, and it will be great in the kids' bathroom. Brian is going to add hooks for me so we can use it to hang up their towels.

(I used this tutorial from Miss Mustard Seed.) The next time I do a sign though I will used bolder colors. This one is lacking pop.

And then - then I decided I needed to paint our TV cabinet.

Y'all. Our TV cabinet is huge! It takes up an entire wall in the den, with the flat screen TV, two side bookcases and a big thing on top.

And it's not that there's anything wrong with it. I just don't love it. We've been in our house for over six years now and we've grown and changed as a family, and I feel like my style has too.

I told Brian "let's wait until after Christmas." And then I started painting it this weekend. I know.

I've only done a small bit of it inside one of the bookcases, but so far it's not really what I want it to be. So I think I'm going to put that one on the back burner. And since the new paint is only inside the bookcase with the door closed it won't look too weird to leave it that way until after Christmas.

Right?

Please agree with me here.

Also this weekend I took Andrew to a birthday party at Pump it Up and got suckered into going down two giant slides. Those things are crazy!

And then Brian and I taught Andrew's Sunday School class this morning. I was very grateful for the detailed instructions. The kids were so sweet though. And it was funny to watch Andrew interact with these kids we didn't know.

Throw in lots of play time and kitchen cleaning (seriously - where do all those dishes come from??)  and that's our weekend.

What did y'all do?

Did you know Thanksgiving is this week? Ummmm...how did that happen??  I'm not ready!

Dress for the Day: Fan Style

It turned chilly here again last Sunday. And by chilly I mean 40's in the mornings and 60's during the day. It's been fabulous! I really, really love cool days.

And Sunday was also game day. My Cowboys may be a pretty mediocre team, but they're still my team and they had a big day against the Eagles so I thought I better dress to support them while I watched them at home on TV.

I'm here to say that wearing a t-shirt does not have to be frumpy! I still kicked it up a bit with bright blue denim leggings, my favorite tall boots, a snuggly cowl and a favorite cardigan.

So, so comfy to cheer on my team (and they won!)

How did you #dressfortheday this week?

// Denim Leggings // Sweater (similar) // Cowl // Boots

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Linking up:

Comparisons

I know I'm not the only one out there sitting down to the computer surrounded by Legos. Right? Please say I'm not alone.

I try so hard to pick it all up at night after the kids are in bed. And most nights I get it done. Truth be told I'll still probably get to it tonight because I'm crazy, and I hate waking up to a messy house.

But still, some nights it's just so hard to do it all again.

And again, and again....when you know you're going to do it, that's right, again the next day.

Brian totally blessed me this weekend and watched the kids all afternoon while I went to a neighborhood house tour with my sister.

We walked through these perfectly tidy and beautifully decorated homes taking in all the little details, the color schemes and the floor plans and the amazing furniture.

And Kelsey and I laughed so much because you could immediately tell which houses were not homes to small children.

Oh, you have a wall of wine starting two feet off the floor? Child-free!

Oh, you have floor-length still-white drapes in the dining room? Child-free!

Oh, you have a giant stone fireplace and sharp edges on every piece of furniture? Child-free!

It was kinda funny after awhile. But I love looking at these homes just as much as I love to flip through House Beautiful and Better Homes and Gardens.

I know right now our house isn't going to look like something out of a magazine and some days that frustrates me like crazy.

The frustration sets in when I start the deadly comparison game. It's no fun to compare my house to those perfectly clean living rooms, or to those fun and funky kitchens I see on Instagram. And don't even get me started on Pinterest!

But this is a short season in our lives and some day I'll get to go to bed without having to pick up a single Lego or sippy cup. Maybe!

And maybe then I'll be able to spend a little more time decorating and a little less time toy organizing.

Preschool Lunch Bentos - Weeks 8 & 9

I toured a little private school today in anticipation of Andrew going to Pre-K next year and then Kindergarten the following year. It was all a little surreal. He's not really going to go to school five days a week is he??

The school was great. Kids in art, gym and Spanish during our brief tour. The library was swoon worthy with books displayed next to stuffed versions of their characters on short open shelves.

Caroline was with me in the Ergo and she tried to jump out to run off with Lilly and her Purple Purse.

I could totally see Andrew settling in on one of the bean bags scattered around the letter covered rug.

We don't know yet where he'll end up for Elementary - maybe the little public school in the neighborhood we like, maybe here in this fabulous Catholic school. But no matter where he lands I pray he loves it. Instilling a love of learning is one of our most important jobs as parents, and I think about it a lot.

During dinner on Tuesday night Andrew told me he knew the Pledge of Allegiance. I was honestly surprised. I didn't know they'd been working on it in preschool, but he had it down. He said, "I can say it two times!" and then again, "I can say it three times!" He was so proud. And so was I.

He's such a special kid.

And these last two weeks he's had pretty cool lunches, too. :)

Tuesday, October 30:

Andrew actually had a Halloween party at school and they had pizza. So I just had to make Caroline's lunch. She had ham on the last of my puffy pumpkin sticker toothpicks, pop chips, star shaped cheese, grapes and blueberries. It was packed in my little frog box.

Thursday, November 1:

I packed Andrew a fall-themed lunch to celebrate November. Ham roll-ups, raspberries with a leaf pick, leaf shaped naan bread and cheese, mustard and a pickle. It was packed in the Lunchbots Duo. He thought the leaf shapes were awesome.

Tuesday, November 6:

Andrew had vehicle stamped peanut butter & jelly, cheese, crackers, blueberries and yogurt packed in the Yubo box.

Caroline had a car and a bus pb&j too with a few crackers, cheese cubes, blueberries and grapes.

Thursday, November 7:

Andrew took Iron Man for show and tell today so I figured it was appropriate for him to have an Iron Man sandwich. I can't tell you how much he loves these. He also had spider-man Cheese-Its and blackberries. I stuck a little frog pick in the berries since this lunch was packed in the frog box.

You can find most of my bento supplies online at All Things for Sale. And Amazon is a great resource too.

Dress for the Day: Sweater Dress & Booties

I finally settled on a pair of booties, and when they arrived last week I couldn't wait to wear them.

So Saturday I was heading out with my sister and a few friends for a little shopping and a girls lunch, and I decided it was the perfect occasion for booties and a black sweater dress.

And it totally would have been if it were actually fall here in Dallas.

My feet almost burned up in my hot little boots.

I might look comfortable here, but don't be fooled. You just can't see the sweat trickling down my back.

So here's my #dressfortheday tip: Also remember to dress for the weather. Amen.

// Booties // Tights // Dress (similar) //

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Mornings

So this morning I'm loving the end of Daylight Saving Time. 

I was dreading it because I remember last year Andrew was up and ready for the day at 6AM every day for weeks. It look ages to get him back to his 7AM schedule.

But today? 7:30. I can totally handle that. 

I was up at and at 'em at 7AM. Go me! I was also in bed last night by 11:30. Again - go me!

I've made my grocery list, emptied the dishwasher, started the laundry, fed the kids, washed my hair! 

It's like I'm a pretend morning person. :)

Today I'm feeling thankful for daylight. And fresh, crisp mornings.

What are you thankful for this morning?

Costumes & Cupcakes

My nephew's second birthday party was last weekend. And to say that the kids had a good time might be a bit of an understatement.

Caroline had her first bounce house experience and she had so much fun! She's so brave. We plopped her in and she was ready to go.

Cousins and cupcakes are the best.

The party was super cute. I made the little cupcake toppers and water bottle labels. Kelsey's house looked beautiful as always. She used hay bales for seating outside and cheese puffs for table decorating - such cute ideas!

I just love birthday parties at home! And apparently so do my kids! :)

(I found the little costume kids clip art at Lilly Bimble on Etsy.)

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Linking up:

Friday Shares

A few things I've come across on the web this week and just had to share with you...

• Did you see this post about creating your own handwriting fonts via A Beautiful Mess? Love, love, love. I've already made a few I want to share with you soon. The possibilities are endless!

• Do you watch Once Upon a Time? No? You should! And if you do, you should read Megan's recaps on Tuesdays. They're almost as much fun as watching the show. :)

• I want these ombre tights! And the model's legs, too.

• Surely you're thinking about your Christmas cards already, right? Well, I Heart Faces and The Album Cafe are offering free Photoshop templates for holiday cards. I love the blackboard look!

• This little boy sweater has elbow patches. Yes please.

Y'all have a fantastic weekend! It was 88(!) degrees here today, but I think it'll cool off enough for me to wear my new booties. Maybe. I hope.

Cheers!